United near the bottom in airline service: survey

(Crain's) — United Airlines comes out toward the bottom — again — in an annual ranking of airline performance issued today.

The Chicago-based carrier ranked 12th out of the 15 largest airlines in an index that tracks on-time performance, baggage handling, involuntary denied boardings and customer complaints.

United's overall ranking was unchanged from a year ago, but its merger partner Continental Airlines slipped to 11th place from eighth.

United, the largest carrier at O'Hare International Airport, had the most customer complaints of any airline. Complaints rose 35 percent to 2.21 per 100,000 passengers, according to the Airline Quality Rating. Dallas-based Southwest Airlines, the largest carrier at Chicago's Midway International Airport, had the fewest complaints at 0.32 per 100,000 passengers.

The Airline Quality Rating, a joint research project by Wichita State University in Kansas and Purdue University in Indiana, has been studying industry performance for 22 years. This year's results were the best ever for the overall industry.